A KNOWLEDGE-BASED VIEW OF TEAM IN THE CONTEXT OF TQM

摘要

We extend the resource-based theory of the firm[9] to the bounded social entity (team) withinthe larger social system (firm) in an effort torationalize teamwork widely adopted in TQM.We construe that the teaming of employeesenrich and enhance the original proposedknowledge substitution and flexibility effectsdue to the emergence of lateral knowledgesubstitution and team adaptability. We infer thatteam structure embedded in a traditionalhierarchical structure better serves anorganization in pursuing the dual goals of TQM– Total Quality Control (TQC) and TotalQuality Learning (TQL) [41].